Rock River Disposal will be accepting small electronic devices as part of its new contract with the city. Devices must be smaller than tw...

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Electronic waste now acceptedRock River Disposal will be accepting small electronic devices as part of its new contract with the city. Devices must be smaller than two feet by two feet, which includes items like cell phones, toasters, laptop computers, computer towers, keyboards, mouses, DVD players, radios, hair dryers and power tools. TVs and computer monitors are not accepted.Simply put electronic waste in your recycling bin with other materials and they will be sorted at the processing facility.

ROCKFORD - The little blue bins are about to get bigger, which may encourage Rockford residents to recycle more.

New 32-gallon recycle bins will be delivered to 51,000 Rockford homes as part of the city's new seven-year contract with Rock River Disposal for curbside waste removal. The new cylindrical containers with lids will replace the 18-gallon uncovered rectangular bins this spring.

"The larger the container the more that you're sending a message to residents that you want to fill this container," said Marta Keane, president of the Illinois Recycling Association. "Just the fact that you're going up in size is going to be a good thing for your recycling rate."

Rockford's recycling rate has typically lagged below national averages. About 31 percent of what residents throw out at the curb is diverted from the landfill through recycling and compost material, according to data from Rock River Environmental Services, the parent company of hauler Rock River Disposal. In 2011, Americans recycled and composted about 87 million tons of material for a 34.7 percent recycling rate, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. John Lichty, president and CEO of Rock River Environmental, sees this container upgrade as an opportunity to boost recycling in the area.

"We feel very strongly that people tend to recycle up to the capacity you give them," Lichty said. "It should help double recycling rates here in town."

Communities that have made the switch to larger bins have seen residents recycle more. Joliet, for example, saw residents recycle 40 percent more material after switching to 96-gallon toters in 2011.

Lids covering the bins will also help increase recycling and make for cleaner streets on trash day, Lichty said. Paper and plastic can often escape uncovered recycling bins and scatter across the streets with a gust of wind, Keane said.

"Here's something you intended to recycle and it's getting blown down the street and lost, potentially," she said.

Keane said education about what can be recycled and the benefits can also help boost recycling rates. Locally, Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful has a guide on its website - knib.org - meant to help people understand what household items can be recycled.

"There's still the misconception that something you send to a landfill decomposes, it goes away, it just magically disappears and that's really not the case," said Lori Gummow, executive director of Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful. "People think that once it's off your curb, it's gone."

Aside from reducing the amount of trash that fills landfills, recycling saves natural resources and energy, Gummow said. For example, it takes 95 percent less energy to make aluminum cans from recycled cans than using virgin materials. Recycling also creates more jobs than waste, she said.

Page 2 of 2 - Rock River's data shows approximately 10 percent of Rockford's curbside waste goes to the recycling center in Homewood; 21 percent is yard waste sent to the Rock River Valley Compost facility in Cherry Valley, where it may be sold to gardeners and landscapers. The remaining 69 percent is dumped at the Winnebago Landfill.

The city is finalizing its contract language for the new deal and hopes to have it completed within a couple weeks. Lichty said it will take about 10 weeks from the time the contract is finalized to get all 51,000 bins delivered. Some residents may have their new bins within four weeks after the contract is signed. And residents can keep their existing recycling bin.

Meanwhile, residents have received their first bill with the new $18.86 monthly rate for garbage collection, an increase from $15.50. The fee not only pays for the Rock River Disposal hauling contract, but also funds street sweeping and forestry, including tree replacement to manage the Emerald Ash Borer threat.